Pew Research Center will present its latest data on campaign communications

During the 1996 re-election campaign, presidential candidates primarily reached voters through traditional media – one-way communication. Americans were limited in how they could make their voices heard: writing or faxing a letter, picking up the phone, or visiting with candidates in-person. That same year, the light-touch regulatory framework of the 1996 Telecom Act set the stage for extensive network investment and innovation that created many new channels for two-way and multi-way communication between presidential campaigns and voters, empowering Americans to shape the presidential race.

The Internet Innovation Alliance invites you to explore these questions with us over cocktails and hors d’oeuvres:

• How has the way that presidential campaigns reach American voters evolved since 1996?

• How are Americans interacting with presidential campaigns today using social media and the web?

• Can social media have a truly significant impact on the outcome of a presidential race?

• Has the political process been effectively democratized by broadband?

Jamal Simmons is leaving the Internet Innovation Alliance for a new digital media opportunity. He served as an organization co-chair for 6 years. As co-chair, Jamal was focused on IIA goals to expand broadband access for students, entrepreneurs and consumers. His co-chairs and the IIA staff thank Jamal for his valuable contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors!

Last week, IIA Co-Chair Jamal Simmons moderated a conversation with experts in the field of machine learning, IoT, and 5G in San Francisco. Speakers included Arpit Joshipura, General Manager of Networking at the Linux Foundation and Amit Pradhan, Managing General Partner of JetVentures.

Enough is enough. Activists organizing against Chairman Pai’s rules, who argue for Net Neutrality, should demand Congress take this fight into its own hands and protect an open internet with bipartisan legislation.

A sound economy relies on reasonable and restrained regulation that leaves lots of room for innovation, growth and profits. That’s why Congress should stop the ping-pong effect of the Net Neutrality debate as power passes back and forth between political parties.

If we are serious about speeding broadband deployment, the FCC has to get into the nitty-gritty questions about access to poles, equipment, contractors, how long the process should take, how providers should be compensated, and similar issues.

The next generation of progress for African Americans will be economic, particularly eliminating income and wealth inequality. Entrepreneurship and high-quality, high-paying jobs will be an important part of that solution, and increasing access to high-speed broadband will make closing the gaps easier.